May I Fall For You?
by TheAmazingFireshadow
Summary: Lila is still trying to ruin Marinette's life, but she went too far. Marinette gets hurt, an injury that she can't cover up even as Ladybug. Will Adrien figure out that his friend and his lady are the same person? Adrienette and LadyNoir. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Marinette:**

I don't know what I was thinking when I yelled at Lila. Adrien told me not to expose her because it wouldn't do any good, but I was so fed up. She really pushed me to the limit with her lies, and she was turning people against me with every fib she told. Well, the next time I saw her, I confronted her. That was my first mistake.

"Lila." I said as she walked into the bathroom.

"Oh. It's you." She cringed like it pained her to even say 'you', God forbid use my actual name.

"I'm done with your lies, Lila. I'm not just going to stand by and put up with it anymore. And if that means telling a couple little white lies of my own, then so be it. Anything to expose you for the fake you are."

"Do you really think it'll do any good? Nobody trusts you enough anymore to believe what you say." She was purposefully getting me fired up, and I was taking the bait.

"Okay, Lila. Is that the game you want to play? Maybe the whole world would like to know that there is no cure for tinnitus. I guess you didn't do your research on that one. And saving a kitten on a runway? Would you like me to tell everyone that standing on the runway at an airport is against the rules, or do you want them to figure that out for themselves? Besides, Lila, I can tell the whole school that you never knew Ladybug, and that the only times she saved you were because you were stupid enough to get akumatized!"

"How. Dare. You." I had pushed her too far with the Ladybug one. I should have known that was still a sensitive topic. The next thing I knew, she slapped my cheek, accidentally-on-purpose digging her nail into my skin with enough force to draw blood. "You have just made yourself an enemy that you're going to regret." She spit the words out and left, leaving me in the bathroom with blood on my cheek and no way to cover it up.

Besides, Alya would ask me what happened, and not even she would believe me if I told her the truth. It looked like the only person I could talk to anymore was Adrien, and I couldn't really even talk to him. I dabbed a paper towel against my cheek to try to stop the blood flow, but it didn't really do much. I did something uncharacteristic that I should have known would draw even more attention than a scratch. I let my hair down so no one could see the injury. That was my second mistake.

I stumbled out of the bathroom and down the hall to Mme. Mendeleiev's class with my head down, trying to avoid suspicion, but that wouldn't happen because I was already late for class. I slipped into the classroom, gaining everyone's attention. It was no surprise that I was late for yet another class, but nobody in that room besides Alya had seen me with my hair down before.

"What's up, girl?" I knew Alya would be suspicious.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I whispered back. Alya gave me a funny look, but she didn't pry for the rest of class, for which I was very grateful.

**Adrien:**

Lila was back, and I could tell Marinette was about to burst. Not even Alya believed her anymore, and it was hard to watch everyone turn against kind, honest Marinette. During Mme. Bustier's class, Lila was in rare form. She told so many lies that I was positive someone would figure her out, but it only fascinated them more. I turned back to sneak a glance at Marinette and she looked back at me with her pleading blue eyes, laced with a touch of rage. I knew she was having a hard time dealing with everything that was going on, and I felt sorry for her.

"Ms. Bustier, may I be excused?" Apparently, Marinette had had about enough of Lila for one class.

"Yes, Marinette, but hurry back. I wouldn't want you to miss anymore of my lesson." Marinette nodded and walked out of the classroom as fast as she could.

By this point, I was about ready to leave the room too. Not only was I finding Lila's lies harder and harder to swallow, I had no interest in Mme. Bustier's lesson. It had been about five minutes, and Marinette hadn't returned. I figured she was just cooling off somewhere.

"Ms. Bustier, may I be excused as well?" This time, it was Lila who asked to leave the room. _Oh, no._ I thought. _This can't be good._ I didn't want to know what Marinette would say to Lila if they came across each other, but I didn't have time to worry about it. Class was over.

Only about a minute later, Lila rejoined the class in Mme. Mendeleiev's room, but I was worried. Marinette still hadn't come back. I sat there, wondering what Marinette was doing, going over every possible scenario in my head. Pretty soon though, she walked in head held low, and hair down in front of her face. I had never seen her hair down before. She threw a glance in my direction, and I could have sworn she was crying.

"What's up, girl?" I heard Alya ask. I almost hoped Marinette wouldn't answer the question if it had to do with Lila.

"You would believe me if I told you." Her voice never sounded sadder, and I desperately wanted to help her, but I didn't know how.

By the end of physics, my choices were clear. I could talk to Marinette and try to help her, or I could leave her to sort out her own problems.

Before she could leave the room at the end of class, I grabbed her hand. "Marinette, can I talk to you?"

She looked up at me with her sad eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't. She just nodded and turned away, letting me lead her off to the locker room to get to the bottom of the drama.

"Okay, Marinette. What happened?" She didn't answer. "Does it have to do with Lila?" She nodded. I cupped a hand around her cheek and she turned her head to look at me. Her eyes were red from crying, and her face streaked with tears. I brushed her hair out of the way and saw...blood? "Marinette, what happened?" She broke down in tears.

I looked around to make sure no one else was in the room. I didn't know what to do, so I put my arms around her and she cried into my shoulder. The two of us sat on the floor of the locker room up against the wall for what felt like hours until Marinette ran out of tears to cry. "I-It w-was…" She began trying to tell me what had happened. "M-my fault."


	2. Chapter 2

**Marinette:**

What was I doing, sitting on the floor of the locker room with Adrien Agreste? It seemed so messed up, but so right at the same time. I didn't want him to find out that I had confronted Lila, because he told me to let it lie, but I couldn't really stop him from finding out. He brushed my hair away from my face, and I didn't need to look at his expression to know that he saw the scratch.

"Marinette, what happened?" His voice was gentle and laced with concern, and I couldn't find any words to say. I broke down. I cried my eyes out in front of my crush. What was I thinking? But Adrien didn't walk away. He didn't even hesitate. He drew me in with an embrace, and I rested my head on his shoulder. I just let the tears flow until they didn't come anymore. Adrien deserved an explanation.

"I-It w-was…" I tried to force the words out, but I ended up stuttering worse than usual. "M-my fault." That was all I could say.

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes, the only noises coming from the classrooms across the hall.

"What happened to your cheek?" Adrien's voice was barely a whisper.

"L-Lila." I felt Adrien's arm tense.

"She did that to you?" He was practically yelling now. "But how can you say it's your fault then?"

"I made her do it."

Adrien raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I did exactly was you told me not to do. I provoked her." I wanted to cry some more, but I didn't. It wouldn't have done any good anyway. I just mumbled, "Sorry."

"It's alright. We'll talk about this later. Why don't I take you home now? You're in no condition to go back to class, and I don't want you anywhere near that...that brat Lila for the rest of the day." I wanted to protest going home, but I couldn't find the words to say no.

"But what will I tell my parents?"

"I'll say you weren't feeling well, take you up to your room, and bring you the lessons at the end of the day. If you're feeling better by then, we can talk about what happened with Lila." I just nodded. I didn't deserve him.

We slipped out of the school and began the short walk across the street to my house. Adrien grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. I knew everything was going to work out as long as he still believed me. We walked into the bakery, where Maman gave me a confused look.

"Hi, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng."

"Hello, Adrien." My mom answered skeptically. "What are you two doing home now?"

"Marinette wasn't feeling well, so I walked her home. I'll drop off her lessons after school if that's alright, ma'am."

Maman smiled at him and nodded. After all, who could say no to Adrien Agreste?

After we got up to my room, I thanked Adrien and gave him a kiss on the cheek, the same way I did at the Heroes' Day picnic. I saw him blush slightly before rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"So I'll see you after school then, Marinette. Feel better." He gave me his trademark wink and descended the stairs. Of course, it made me feel instantly better. I knew I would be ready to talk to him by this afternoon.

**Adrien:**

I walked Marinette up the stairs to her room and said a silent prayer that she would be alright. She seemed to be feeling better though. We stood in her room for an awkward moment before she said, "Thanks, Adrien." I was about to say something back, but she cupped my chin in her hands and kissed me on the cheek. I couldn't remember what I was going to say to her, so I just told her I'd see her after school and winked at her. What was I thinking, winking at her? That was a lame thing to do.

I thought about the kiss all the way back to school, but I had to push it out of my mind when I got back to school.

"Agreste, would you like to explain your brief absence this morning?" Uh oh. I scrolled through my mind, trying to come up with some believable excuse that I could tell the principal.

"Um...well, Mr. Damocles, sir, I...I had a headache, so I went to the nurse's office. She gave me some medicine for it and told me to rest for a little while, so I did. I was just on my way back to class now." I faked a smile.

Mr. Damocles sighed. "Alright, Adrien. Get to class."

"Thank you, sir!" I was off the hook for that one, but now I had to deal with Lila for another half an hour. It was much worse than I thought. I walked into the room and everyone glared at me as if I was Public Enemy #1 or something.

"How dare you, Adrikins?" Chloe yelled as if I had committed a major crime.

"Um...what?" I took my seat next to Nino. "What the heck is going on, Nino?"

He just stared at me. "You don't know?" I shook my head. "Well, short story, Lila accused you of cheating on her with Marinette."

Was I hearing him right? "What? Why?"

Nino sighed. "Nobody knows where you've been for the past half an hour, just that you were with Marinette. Lila made up some story about how the two of you were going out, and now everybody thinks you were cheating on her."

I was so done with today. I just wanted it to be over. I was looking forward to patrol tonight so I could get out and clear my head, but that wasn't for another 8 hours.

I stumbled my way through the rest of the day, grateful for a little time away from that hellhole during lunch break. At the final bell, I grabbed my things and practically ran out of the school, directly to Marinette's house.

"Marinette's upstairs." Her father greeted me at the door. "She's been waiting for you." I smiled in return and walked upstairs. I knocked on the trapdoor to her room.

"Come in." I opened the door to find Marinette sitting at her desk, working on a new purse design.

"I have your homework."

She gave me a warm smile. "Thanks. You're the best."

"You seem to be feeling better." I commented.

"I am, a little."

"How's the scratch?"

"Better. It still hurts a little, but it's not bleeding anymore at least."

"Good." I was just making small talk. I wanted to avoid telling her about the rumors at school, but I had to at some point. I didn't want her to find out on her own and have even more false drama to deal with. "Listen, Marinette, there's been more rumors going around…" I began.

She sighed. "Lila again?"

I could only nod in response.

"Well, what is it this time?"

"She spread a rumor that I was her boyfriend, and now she's convinced the whole class that I'm cheating on her with you. Now everyone hates me too."

Marinette let out a nervous chuckle. "Join the club."

"Maybe we should talk tomorrow. I don't think it would do either of us any good to be seen together now."

She nodded. "Yeah. Maybe you'd better go." I left her the homework I had brought home for her and left, still anxious for patrol that night.

**Marinette:**

I couldn't believe her! Saying she was dating Adrien and that he cheated on her? With _me_? Lila was the literal devil. I was ready for patrol that night. So ready that right after dinner, I went out, even though it was only 7:00 and I wasn't meeting Cat Noir until half past.

"Tikki, spots on!" It felt great to run across the rooftops, breathing in the night air as I made my way to the Eiffel Tower where we were meeting that night. But when I got there, I noticed something. Cat Noir was there already. He must have gone out early as well.

"Hey." His green cat eyes seemed to glow in the darkness of the night.

"Hey, Cat." I jumped down to where he was.

"Good to see you again, m'lady." He bowed down and planted a kiss on my knuckles. It was nothing new. He did it almost every time I saw him. But still, it felt good to know that there was someone else on my side.

He inched a little closer to me and gave me a Cheshire cat grin. "Ready?" I turned to him and nodded, grateful to have something in my head besides Lila. At least she wasn't spreading rumors about Ladybug. Yet. I wouldn't put it past her. As I looked at Cat Noir, his eyes grew wide in shock.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked.

He averted his gaze and said, "No, I'm good." I knew he wasn't 'good' though, because he seemed a little out of it for the rest of the night.

**Adrien: **

I went out early to be alone for a little while, but my solitude only lasted for about five minutes before I saw Ladybug heading towards the Eiffel Tower. I was grateful to have her company at least. We made some small talk, I don't really remember the details, but she turned to look at me. Even in the dark of the night, I could see it on her cheek. A scratch. Like Marinette's. So many thoughts were going through my head, and I couldn't think straight.

I remember Ladybug looking at me, filled with confusion and concern, and she asked me if something was wrong. "No, I'm good." It was all I could say. I tried to act normal, but I knew she could tell something was wrong. Sooner or later, I would have to confront her, though.


	3. Chapter 3

**Marinette: **

On the way home, I noticed a dull pain in my cheek so I investigated when I got back to my bedroom. I looked in the mirror, and to my horror, the scratch was still there.

"Spots off." Tikki came out of my left earring as I dropped my transformation. "Oh, Tikki! I thought that you couldn't see the scratch when I was Ladybug."

"Marinette, if you got hurt while you were Ladybug, the Miraculous cure would have fixed it. But you got hurt as Marinette, so the costume didn't cover it up."

"Then that must have been why Cat Noir was acting so weird on patrol earlier. He must have noticed. But why didn't he say anything about it?" I was even more confused now. If Cat had seen the scratch on my cheek, he would have said something about it. Unless that wasn't it. Perhaps he had something else on his mind that made him act the way he did. I couldn't be sure, though.

I had a pretty restless night after that. Once I had finished my homework, it was getting pretty late, and I couldn't really concentrate on it anyway. My brain was filled with thoughts of Lila and her lies, Adrien and his kindness, and Cat Noir and his weird behavior. Sometimes, the world just seemed really messed up.

In the morning, I felt a little bit better, although I wasn't looking forward to going back to school with people thinking I had done the unspeakable with Adrien. But I owed all of it to Lila. She really had messed up my life. But I guess it takes a messed up person to mess up other people. I got dressed and went downstairs. I don't even remember if I ate anything or not. Probably not.

I grabbed my books and headed out the door, taking my time getting to school. The later I got there, the less time I would have to deal with Lila and her garbage, which was fine with me. I walked up the steps, people throwing glances my way, sometimes whispering things to their friends. By now, the news had spread to the whole school. There was no escaping the snide comments and feedback that people would throw my way. For some reason, I guess Lila thought I deserved it. What right did she have to make me the bad guy?

I slipped into Mme. Bustier's room, gaining the attention of everyone I used to call friends. But now? They were barely acquaintances, and they wanted nothing to do with me. I kept my head down and went to my seat, desperately trying to avoid their stares and whispers, but it didn't do any good. And where was Adrien? It wasn't like him to be later than me. Luckily, he ducked into the classroom just before the bell. At least there was one person who didn't hate me.

Adrien sat down, offering a fist to Nino, but he didn't take it. Now everyone was avoiding Adrien too. He turned around and passed me a folded piece of paper. I unfolded it to find his message written on it: **Meet me in the courtyard at lunch break. We really need to talk. **I didn't know what we would have to talk about, but I knew I would think about it until lunch break.

**Adrien:**

Last night was a bad night. My head was so full of thoughts. Could Marinette be Ladybug? It didn't make any sense in my mind at first, but the pieces fit together. She was never there during Akuma fights, and she always left when there was an alert. She had the same blue eyes and the same midnight blue hair as Ladybug, and sometimes their personalities were shockingly similar. But Marinette? I wouldn't have guessed in a thousand years. Although, it would explain why she was late all the time.

I couldn't talk to her at school because of all the drama surrounding the two of us, but did I really have another choice? I also couldn't just walk up to her and be like, "Hey, are you Ladybug?", because that would only be awkward and make matters worse. But really, I had to tell her somehow that I knew, and I couldn't do that without her finding out I was Cat Noir. I didn't fall asleep until almost 6:00.

I didn't wake up to my alarm, or to Nathalie knocking on my door. I was so physically and mentally exhausted from the night before that I could barely drag myself out of bed when it was time to get up for school. I managed to get dressed and eat breakfast without falling asleep, but it wasn't easy. Before I left, I frantically scribbled a message on a piece of paper: **Meet me in the courtyard at lunch break. We really need to talk.** I decided to give it to Marinette at school.

My brain was wide awake now, and I couldn't help but think about how Marinette being Ladybug made sense. I was still going over all of their similarities, yet how different the two of them were at the same time. And maybe, just maybe, she would like Cat Noir if she knew it was me. Then again, she had mentioned that she liked someone else, so maybe I didn't have a chance with her. But as my mother would say, "It's better to have failed trying than never to have tried at all."

I practically ran through the door of Mme. Bustier's classroom, and just seconds before the bell rang. I sat down and held out my fist to Nino, but he didn't return the gesture. I looked around the room only to be met with icy stares from people. Now I really knew how Marinette felt. I turned around to look at her and she smiled. Ladybug's smile. It had to be her.

Without hesitation, I dropped the note on her desk and turned around. I could hear her unfolding the paper, then a few seconds later, folding it back up. She tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a piece of paper that simply said, "okay".

Now there was only one more thing to think about. What the heck was I going to talk to her about? What was I going to say? I didn't pay much attention to Mme. Bustier's lesson, but it wasn't the first time I had let my mind wander.

At the bell, I packed up my things and trudged down the hall to Mme. Mendeleiev's room for physics class. I had so much on my mind still, so many questions left to be answered. My head was swimming all through physics class, all through history. Finally, the last bell before lunch break rang, and we retreated to the locker room to pack up.

I noticed Marinette purposefully shying away from Lila. Once, Lila had tried to talk to her, but Marinette wouldn't even look in her direction. She just pretended not to hear and kept walking. I had to keep myself from laughing, especially when I turned around to look at Marinette. There was a deadpan expression on her face, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips as she flashed a wink in my direction. The same kind I had given her the day before when I left her room. I couldn't keep myself from smiling, especially now that I knew it was Ladybug who had just winked at me.

I walked out to the courtyard after packing up and found Marinette there already. She was casually sitting on a bench, trying to pretend that she didn't have a care in the world, but I could see through it. She was nervous. I could see it in her beautiful bluebelle eyes when she looked at me. I could see it in the way the stood as I walked over to her.

I hadn't the faintest idea what I was going to say to her, so I said nothing. I came up to her, took her in my arms, and kissed her. She squeaked, an expression of surprise, but she relaxed in my arms and kissed me back. After a few seconds, I slowly pulled back and said the one thing on my mind. "I love you, Ladybug."


	4. Chapter 4

**Marinette:**

It would have been a lie if I had said I wasn't nervous about talking to Adrien, though I had gotten better about it in the past few days. As soon as the bell rang, I headed out to the courtyard, anxious to see and talk to the one and only Adrien Agreste. I went outside and sat down on the bench where I had a clear view of the school, hoping nobody could see me. They could, of course, but I was just trying to lure myself into a false sense of security. I tried to act confident, which wasn't easy knowing that I was dying inside.

Then, I saw Adrien. He was headed my way, so I did the polite thing and stood up to meet him. I was expecting him to greet me, or vice versa, but he didn't stop walking. He kept going until he was right in front of me, bodies practically touching. Before I even had enough time to process his close proximity, he closed the gap and pressed his lips to mine. I accidentally let a squeak escape my lips in shock, but I melted in his arms. How could I not?

For a few fleeting moments, I let him take all of my anxiety away. I didn't care who was watching. I didn't stop to think about what would happen after this. I just held on to the moment like it was a lifeline. Too soon, it ended. We both pulled away slowly from the kiss, resting our foreheads together so the tips of our noses touched. I barely heard Adrien's voice because I was so caught up in the moment, but I knew I couldn't be mistaken. _Did he actually say that?_ I wondered.

He did. There was no mistake, no way of getting around it. Adrien Agreste just confessed to me. Well, he confessed to Ladybug. And Ladybug is me. So yes, he did just confess his love for me. I couldn't think straight, much less form a sentence. I was just collecting my thoughts when I was interrupted by...her.

"Adrien, how dare you?" Lila stormed up to the two of us, shouting loud enough so that everyone around could hear. That was her goal, I guess. Maybe she just liked to ruin people's lives?

"How dare I what?" Adrien's tone was challenging, and far more stern than I had ever heard. I tried to move away, to leave the situation and get far, far away from that brat and her crap, but Adrien slipped an arm around my waist, restraining me.

"How dare you kiss her? I thought you loved me, Adrien!" Lila began to cry, but everyone could tell it was fake. Couldn't they? We were gathering a crowd, and I wanted nothing more than to run away and hide somewhere, but it was obvious Adrien wasn't finished with either of us.

"Listen, Lila. I never said I loved you. Aren't you stretching the truth just a tiny bit?" Adrien tried to keep his composure, but I could tell he wanted to yell at her.

"Are you accusing me of lying? That's low, Adrien. The only person I know who would stoop that low is, let's see...Marinette! She's the only liar here, and she's trying to convince you to fall for her!" I felt Adrien's arm tighten on my waist. He couldn't stand it any longer. He did the one thing he made me promise I would never do. He snapped.

"Lila, I don't know about everyone else, but I've had just about enough of your crap. And you must be pretty desperate for attention if you're making up a boyfriend for yourself. You and I both know that you never knew Ladybug, and that you don't have tinnitus, arthritis, a sprained wrist, or any of the other conditions you've been telling everyone you have. Between you and me, Lila, the only thing you really have is a big ego and a big, fat case of insecurity. I have half a mind to make you feel twice as much pain as you've caused." There was a long, uncomfortable silence in the courtyard until Lila regained her devious smirk.

"But you wouldn't hurt me. You can't hit a girl. Your _mother_ taught you that." Everyone's attention turned back to Adrien. He recoiled at the mention of his mother and seemed to be at a loss for words, so I found some for him.

"He may not be able to hit a girl, but that's because he's a gentleman. But…" I gave a pause for dramatic effect. "I'm a girl. So I guess...I can hit a girl." I wiggled free of Adrien's grasp and walked up to Lila. "You've just made yourself an enemy you're going to regret." I echoed her own words back at her, before slapping her on the cheek. There was no blood involved, because not even I would do that, but I did slap her pretty hard.

Once again, Lila was at a loss for words. A single tear fell from her cheek. A genuine one. I almost felt bad for her, but not quite. Then I decided a slap wasn't enough. As Lila turned to walk away, I pulled a Chloѐ on her. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out." Her walk away turned into a run.

I started to have second thoughts. Maybe...maybe I went too far. Maybe she won't stop, and she'll just try harder to make my life miserable. Maybe I'll get in trouble for what I did. Adrien stepped closer and rewarded me with a sweet kiss on the forehead and slipped his hand in mine. Maybe...it isn't so bad after all.

**Adrien:**

I probably shouldn't have said anything to Lila in the first place, but I just wasn't in the mood to listen to her lies. I snapped at her, and my words surprised everyone, including me. But Lila attacked right back.

"But you wouldn't hurt me. You can't hit a girl. Your _mother_ taught you that." She just had to mention my mother. She knew Emilie Agreste had been missing, and she knew it had taken a toll on both me and my father, especially with the scandals surrounding her disappearance. But Lila had to hit me where it hurt. I couldn't find anything to say. What could I say? But I didn't have to say anything.

Marinette, sweet, perfect, wonderful Marinette came to my rescue. For once the roles were reversed. Usually the knight saved his princess, but this time, it was the princess who was ready to fight. "He may not be able to hit a girl, but that's because he's a gentleman. But...I'm a girl. So I guess...I can hit a girl." She pranced up to Lila and hit her on the cheek. Lila turned to walk away, but before she could get very far, Marinette added, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Lila's ego had just been deflated. And I don't mean let out slowly like a small leak in a tire, I mean like, stick a pin in a balloon like of deflated. I could tell Marinette was having second thoughts about her outburst though, so I kissed her on the forehead and took her hand, leading her across the street to her house.

When we got to Marinette's house, her dad was working in the bakery. He raised an eyebrow when we came in holding hands, but he greeted us and continued to serve customers. Marinette went into the back room and insisted I come too, so I did. While she got lunch for the both of us, I made small talk with her mom.

"See you in a bit, Maman." Marinette brought out a tray full of food and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs, motioning for me to follow her. As soon as we got to her room and she put the food down, her expression turned serious. She closed and the trapdoor to her room and pointed to her bed. "Sit." I sat.

She sat down next to me and brought over the food. "How did you find out?"

"Lila." It was all I could say.

"She told you? Does that mean she knows too? Oh my gosh. What the hell did I do wrong?" She stood up and nervously pulled at her hair as she paced around her bedroom nervously.

"No, no. It's okay. She doesn't know, and she didn't tell me." Marinette pivoted on her foot to face me.

"Then how did you find out?" Here was the part I was dreading. Somewhere in these next few sentences, she would find out that I was Cat Noir, and I hadn't the faintest idea how she would react to that. Once again, I was at a loss for words.

I sighed and stood up. "Claws out." I mumbled. As the leather of my cat suit enveloped me, I saw Marinette's eyes widen in shock.

"You...you…" She pointed an accusatory finger at me. "So that's what it was!"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "What _what_ was?"

"That's why you acted so weird on patrol the other night! I knew something was up. But you-you're Adrien Agreste?"

I chuckled nervously. "Guilty." She stared at me for a long minute before walking slowly back to where I was standing. To be honest, I was kind of afraid of what she might do now that she knew. Would she scold me for revealing my identity to her? Would she scold herself for not being more careful?

I didn't have to wonder for long, though. She inched ever closer to my spot by her bed, closing in on me as if she were about to attack. But she didn't. She kissed me.

"You're so stupid." She mumbled into my ear.

I was taken aback. "What?"

"You're so stupid." She repeated, taking a step backwards. "For doing that."

"What? What did I do?"

She grinned at me. "You made me fall in love with you."

**Marinette:**

If you had told me a week ago that I would fall for Cat Noir, I would have told you that you were insane. But, if you had told me that Adrien was Cat Noir...I still would have told you that you were insane. I mean, come on! They're so different from one another that I never would have guessed that my high school crush was in love with _me_.

The next day at school, I found out that Lila had transferred - for real, this time - and that she wasn't coming back to François Dupont. That was probably the best news of the century. I had friends again, once everyone figured out that Lila was a total fake. Everyone was apologizing to me so much, and Alya was practically on her knees, begging for her BFF's forgiveness. When Adrien walked in, everybody did the same apology routine for him.

But Lila was old news by the end of the day, once everyone found out that Adrien and I were a 'thing'. He wasn't very subtle about it either, though he would deny that. I mean, walking up to me and kissing me isn't the sneakiest way to tell people that we're dating. At least, for the time being, no one else knows that we're Paris' superheroes, but that's news for a later date.

At the end of the day, Chloѐ came up to me and made some comment about how i stole her 'Adrikins' from her and she was going to make me pay for it. I wasn't really listening, but I was so grateful to hear it from Chloѐ and not Lila that I hugged her. Yes. I, Marinette Dupain-Cheng hugged Chloѐ Bourgeois, my second biggest enemy.

I guess maybe I've changed a little. I'm willing to forgive and forget more, and I've opened up more. I haven't made any huge changes besides dating my crush, but it's a start.

**Adrien:**

So yes, I was dating Marinette. And yes, I was probably the happiest man on Earth. Marinette also seemed happier. I'm happy that Lila left. I'm not saying she was useless. In fact, she brought all of us closer together in some weird twisted way. I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Chloѐ's face when Marinette hugged her. It was priceless, and it made me feel truly happy for the first time in a while.

I gave Marinette a kiss on the cheek, something I had gotten accustomed to doing in the past couple of days.

"You missed."

I raised an eyebrow, and she kissed me. On the lips this time. She and I had both gotten more comfortable around each other recently, something that I was grateful for.

"I have to go, minou." She whispered to me. Before she could leave, I grabbed her hand and pulled her back to me.

"What do you think of me?" I asked. Marinette looked surprised, but she gave the best answer she could think of.

She planted a kiss on the tip of my nose and said, "I think you're pawsitively purrfect." I couldn't suppress my smile. She began to walk away, but after taking a few steps, she turned back and flashed me a Cheshire cat grin and winked at me. I watched her until she got inside her house before getting in the car with my bodyguard.

I sighed, at peace with myself and the world. My current situation made me think of something my mother said once, and it went something like, "The road of life has its ups and downs, but once you reach your lowest point, there's only one way left to go. Up." And me? I'm definitely going up.


End file.
